Brunch 27 07 2014

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, JULY 27, 2014 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

T OGA

SHI SAK

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H SH P E N I V

RA ANG J I NK

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KUM ITA B A B

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

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Said The Men In White

by Rachel Lopez Coats

Sale Specimens A field guide to mall prowlers during discount season THE BUTTERFLY Threat: Mild Short life cycle. Will flip from store to store, checking every deal. Only then will it buy.

One belt or something. And die from the excitement.

THE BOA CONSTRICTOR Threat: Moderate Boas lie dormant for months. But they’re perceptive predators. They’ll buy up a load of stuff and digest their treats slowly over the next few months of hibernation.

THE HAWK Threat: Maximum He’s been stalking his prey before you knew it existed.

Kept an eye on it, circling patiently, waiting for the vulnerable moment: when prices were slashed by 50 per cent. Then he swooped in for the kill. You didn’t see him coming.

Photos: SHUTTERSTOCK, THINKSTOCK

MINE!

THE HYENA Threat: Mild It waits till you’re done and polishes off the remains: items now at 70 per cent off, Last Day offers.

No threat to the animal kingdom, only to other hyenas.

THE ANTS Threat: Moderate Ants hunt in groups, are remarkably organised: one joins the queue to pay, another picks the items, a third gets the car from parking.

They can carry 10 times their body weight.

THE MAGPIE Threat: Maximum They know of every shiny deal and will convince the cashier to club loyalty cards, cashback offers, and vouchers. Parking reimbursement too.

CASHIER

Cover photos: SUBRATA BISWAS, DEEPAK GUPTA AND RAVI KUMAR Cover design: SWATI CHAKRABARTI

Something Starry

by Veenu Singh

Dark whispers have been following us around: Dipannita Sharma is a horror junkie. Her publicists and the PR of Pizza 3D have been telling us about the rows and rows of horror DVDs lined up at her house. Somebody said something about Sharma undergoing a “horror test” by watching her new film alone. (And Pizza 3D is kind of scary). So we decided to test her. We asked her to recommend five horror films you may not have watched.

Here’s the list she sent us. (It’s not as obscure as we would have liked but you should watch them anyway.)

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

(Spanish: El Espinazo Del Diablo):

Long before Guillermo del Toro presented now famous horror films such as The Orphanage and Mama, he directed this deep supernatural thriller set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. I love it for the horror involving children.

The fear is not constantly visible, but always there.

Stand-Out Factor: Its subtlety. And the fact that it has influenced so many films.

The Strangers (2008): I was so happy when I chanced upon this feature starring Liv Tyler, while I was travelling and got to watch it in the theatre. There is no suddenness about the horror in this film. It just creeps onto you and engulfs you completely as the story progresses. There’s a strong underlying message: don’t waste precious time over trivialities.

Stand-Out Factor: The breathing and the silence. [You need to watch it to understand it].

Audition (1999) (Japanese: Odishon): You need a strong gut to stomach this. It is soft and calm but still so very dark. It’s one of those rare films where there isn’t much blood and gore but its horror is still so very physical.

Stand-Out Factor: Look out for the needle scene. This one’s going to play on your mind for a while.

Don't Look Now (1973): This occult horror film starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie has become a cult classic. At one point, I didn’t know what was actually happening and what wasn’t, which was pretty exciting.

Stand-Out Factor: The grief that turns into horror. And how creepy the beautiful city of Venice looks.

The Book Club

by Satarupa Paul

The Thriller You Absolutely Must Read This Year

The Book: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, a 600-page tome of a crime thriller that has been translated from its French original into 32 languages, is considered one of the biggest original acquisitions in the history of Penguin Books and has become a worldwide bestseller.

The Author: Joël Dicker, a 28-year-old Swiss writer who found his first publisher after his first four novels were rejected.

The Gist: Summer of 1975, the quaint seaside town of Somerset: Harry Quebert, a struggling author in his 30s falls in love with a 15-year-old girl; 33 years later, her body is dug up from his yard, along with a manuscript of the novel that established him as one of America’s top writers. When the news and investigators pour in, Somerset is shocked. Marcus Goldman, a young writing sensation

going through writer’s block after hitting the jackpot with his debut novel, sets out to clear his mentor’s name. He deciphers the mysteries behind the disappearance and death of Nola Kellergan, unearths the secrets that the little town holds, and pens his new bestseller.

One-Line Review: Filled with cliffhangers, it excites and astonishes with such smooth twists that you begin to doubt your own sense of comprehension.

A Tiny Excerpt: “It’s a writer’s privilege, Marcus, to be able to settle his scores with his friends and enemies through the intermediary of his book.

The only rule is that he must not mention them by name, because that means opening the door to lawsuits and headaches. What number have we reached on the list?”

“Twenty-three.”

“So this is the twenty-third rule, Marcus: Only write fiction. Anything else will just bring you trouble.”

Watch out for the 20’s Forever series in Brunch over the coming weeks – Your key to tight & bright skin

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Rachel Lopez, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Veenu Singh, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf, Satarupa Paul, Saudamini Jain, Asad Ali, Atisha Jain

JULY 27, 2014

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Payal Dighe Karkhanis, Ajay Aggarwal

Sinister (2012): Although it has certain clichés – like tapes being watched over and over again – the treatment is very fresh. The kids in the movie freaked the living daylights out of me (but Ethan Hawke is such a delight). There are scenes where it’s just him and you are at the edge of your seat, ready to jump at the drop of a pin.

Stand-Out Factor: Its sheer coldness will make your skin crawl.

On The Brunch Radar

LOVE IT

n Selfies of George Harrison in India n The possible theories guessing who Jon Snow’s parents could be n Google maps in Hindi n Fawad Khan in the trailer of Khoobsurat n So close to Mars!

Go MOM!

by Saudamini Jain

n Arundhati Roy for criticising Gandhi n S**t Uttar Pradesh authorities say n When dating experiments go wrong n That you only need to write ‘Feminism’ in a post to make it go viral n Sex spreadsheets

SHOVE IT

Stuff That Happened Last Sunday maths. Apollo We messed up on o – not 55. ag 11 was 45 years s mistake to It was a ridiculou apologise mbly hu we d an ke ma oning the – we’ve been mo icken by ay, str whole week aw our error.

Excellent cover story!

Should have come earlier though – Muskaan

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COVER STORY

The Fight For How women wrestlers and boxers are turning gender equations upside down and fighting prejudice in a state infamous for its patriarchal mindset

by Saurabh Duggal

JULY 27, 2014

HEY HAVE to fight hard to overturn gender discrimination and deliver a sucker punch to convention. A woman’s journey from womb to womanhood is the bumpiest in Haryana when compared to girls in other Indian states. Born in a state with the country’s worst sex

ratio (879 women every 1,000 men according to the 2011 census) and a worsening child sex ratio (just 834 girls for every 1,000 boys), women are often at the receiving end of deep-set patriarchal prejudices.

Here, marriage is a compulsory milestone, and it arrives well before a girl completes her teens.

Those fortunate enough to finish their education have to comply with their parents’ wishes and marry men chosen by them. Love is considered a crime and those committing it have to face harsh punishment, even death – the so-called ‘honour killing’ phenomenon – in extreme cases.

Braving hostile circumstances, a minuscule minority of girls is using its fists and reflexes to announce to the world that Haryanvi

PHOTO: DEEPAK GUPTA/HINDUSTAN TIMES

PHOTO: PRIYANKA PARASHAR/MINT

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REPUTATION BUSTER

Pinki Jangra, 24 51KG CATEGORY

The girl from Hisar created a flutter after getting the better of Olympic medallist MC Mary Kom during the trials for the Glasgow Games. It was the second time that Jangra had defeated the celebrated boxer.

Earlier, Jangra had triumphed over Mary Kom at the 2009 Senior Women National Championships in Jamshedpur. Thus far, her biggest achievement has been a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in 2011.

girls are as good as, or even better than their male counterparts. The state once infamous for suppressing the girl child is today a hub of wrestling and boxing for girls, disciplines once meant just for the ‘stronger’ sex.

If, over the years, the Indian wrestling and boxing squad comprised the maximum number of

Sakshi Malik, 22 ROOKIE men from the state, now women DREAMS 58KG CATEGORY from the hinterland are also This Rohtak girl is making their mark felt. Of the a new entrant to the seniors’ seven-member women’s wrestling wrestling squad. Pursuing a postsquad at the ongoing Commongraduate degree in Physical wealth Games in Glasgow, five Education from Rohtak’s – Geetika Jakhar, Babita Kumari, Maharshi Dayanand University, Malik won a bronze at the Vinesh Phogat, Lalita, who goes Commonwealth Championships just by her first name and Sakshi held in South Africa last year.

Malik – hail from the state. In boxing, too, two of the three pugilists who boarded the plane to Glasgow got a chance to be part of the – Pinki Jangra and Pooja Rani – sporting world,” says Jakhar. “The belong to Haryana. main problem in our society is To know how these girls are that we don’t let our girls get educhasing their dreams to change the cation.” The wrestler’s sporting perceptions of a khap-dominated achievements got her a deputy susociety, Brunch travelled to Hisar, perintendent’s job in the Haryana 230km from the state capital of Police in 2008.

Chandigarh, the district with All this could happen bethe worst sex ratio (844/1,000) in cause Jakhar’s parents didn’t Haryana. Hisar is the hometown discriminate with her on the basis of Commonwealth Games team of gender. Still, despite all her members Geetika Jakhar, Pinki sporting achievements Jangra and Lalita. and the freedom not to Jakhar, 28, was fortunate to consider marriage till be born in a family that let her she wants it, Jakhar decide her own destiny. In 1999, her is well versed in her schoolteacher parents shifted from family’s traditions.

Agroha village to Hisar in order to “My family has always provide quality education to their treated me like a son, children. Initially, she got hooked but that doesn’t grant to wrestling just to keep fit. But me permission to overshe soon developed a fascination rule family traditions,” for the sport and within two years, adds Jakhar. became national champion in her THE TURNAROUND age group as well as in the seniors’ Wrestling finds state patronage in category. “I am lucky that my Haryana and the sport has a long parents supported my decisions. history of producing champions Today I’ve been able to achieve my from the days of Lila Pehlwan in dreams because of them,” says the the 1960s to Olympic bronze medalcountry’s first lady wrestler to be list Yogeshwar Dutt. Every village conferred with the Arjuna Award. in the state may not boast a school, Very few women athletes in but each would have an akhara Haryana get the kind of support for sure. Still, despite wrestling that Jakhar received from her fambeing part of the ethos of the state, ily. Even a decade-and-half into the girls were never encouraged to 21st century, most Indian women take up the sport. Toiling in a mud can’t take education and participapit means the girl and her family tion in sports for granted. might have to face criticism.

“Had we stayed in a village, “In the beginning, people God knows whether I would have

used to question my father about why he had put me into wrestling,” says Lalita, the 20-year-old grappler who has made it to the Commonwealth squad in the 53-kg category. “Till date it is considered a male bastion. But I was lucky that my father didn’t pay much heed to them. Today the same people are congratulating my father and if I return home with a medal, they will all queue up to honour me,” she adds.

Two years ago, with her parents’ consent, Lalita got engaged to former international wrestler Balraj Nain. Since then, with her father now paralysed, the responsibility of taking care of his fiancée’s travel and training has shifted to Nain. “Society is changing. Still, our families have to face sarcastic remarks,” says Nain.

“People say it’s been two years since our engagement and we still haven’t got married. The villagers ask Lalita’s father who will marry her in case the boy leaves her.

But I have one question for these so-called custodians of the society: what if I desert her after marriage? It’s all about commitment anyway.”

The Lalita-Balraj Nain duo represents a refreshing new Haryana.

But they, too, know the importance of century-old traditions and the consequences of defying them.

“When it comes to marriage, the lines are clearly drawn. It has to be done keeping family customs in mind,” says Nain. “There is no place for a love marriage, especially if it is inter-caste or within the same gotra or same village, or even in another village within the brotherhood.”

Double Olympian athlete Seema Antil, who is married to coach Ankush Punia, gives a simple analogy to explain the dynamics of relationships in Haryana: “If someone drops ink on your shirt, the stain remains forever. It’s the same when a woman marries against family customs. The stain on the family name stays forever. The family has to bear the consequences of defying traditions. At that time no one in the village wants to be associated with the tainted family.”

It is common knowledge that a violation can get a khap panchayat (caste council) to proclaim the couple as siblings and thereby invite social boycott. Daughters who

Toiling in a mud pit with the boys means a girl and her family would face criticism from village elders

JULY 27, 2014

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PHOTO: SUBRATA BISWAS/HINDUSTAN TIMES

COVER STORY cross the line can also be mercilessly murdered along with their THE Pooja Rani, 22 spouses to serve as a deterrent GLADIATOR 75 KG CATEGORY to others – all in the name of The pugilist from boxing hub family honour.

Bhiwani joined the sport late, at the Khaps perceive honour killings age of 18. But within four years, she as a means of redeeming pride. has emerged the best in the country in her weight category. Rani’s first Nearly 90 per cent of such killings international appearance was in 2012 in the country – there were 1,000 and the ongoing Commonwealth in 2008 – take place in the north Games at Glasgow could provide her Indian states of Haryana, Punjab with her biggest platform till date. and Uttar Pradesh.

“Khaps are never against women’s participation in sports,” lar gene pool. Honour killings hapclaims MS Malik, a former DGP pen in every part of the country. with the Haryana Police, who says In 95 per cent of these incidents, it he has researched the phenomeis the kin of the deceased who are non. “They play a supporting role. involved. Khaps have never passed After the Delhi Commonwealth orders for any honour killing,” Games, many khap councils feliciadds Malik. tated women medallists from the HARYANA’S LITTLE CUBA state, including wrestlers Geeta To assess whether mindsets are inand Babita. Khaps are mainly deed changing in other districts of against same-gotra marriages.

‘Her-yana’, we moved from Hisar Many studies show that kids from to Bhiwani, also known as Little such marriages risk severe health Cuba, for its propensity to produce problems from having a too-simiworld-class boxers.

At Nimdri Wali, boxer Pooja Rani’s village, when a daughter turns 18, the hunt for a suitable groom gains top priority in the minds of her parents. So, many girls drop out of school and learn to roll chapatis in the kitchen. Even the 22-year-old boxer’s elder sister was married off at 18. But Rani, who has qualified for the Glasgow Games in the 75 kg category, says two years ago, her parents recognised her passion for boxing and respected her decision to postpone marriage. Now they want her to earn name, fame and glory for herself and for the country.

MAT EFFECT

PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR

JULY 27, 2014

“Nowadays parents in rural India have started giving equal importance to girls.

Still, we have a long way to go,” says Rani’s coach, Sanjay Sheron.

“During training sessions, whenever she got a nick or a cut on her face, Pooja refused to return home. She was scared her parents might tell her to leave the sport.

But now the same parents who were looking for a match for her two years ago, want her to focus on boxing. Marriage has taken a backseat.”

If the village of Nimdri Wali takes pride in their boxing champion, another hamlet on the other end of Bhiwani district has become a wrestling hub owing to the exploits of a family of lady

Lalita, 20 53KG CATEGORY The Commonwealth Games will be a testing ground for this Hisar wrestler (left). Her father’s decision to shift his daughters to the city for better education has paid rich dividends. While the elder sister became a surgeon, Lalita’s sporting exploits have brought fame to the family.

grapplers. Balali village, which gained fame in Haryana as the ‘Geeta-Babita Village,’ after the daughters of Mahaveer Phogat excelled at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Olympics, has another reason to rejoice. Now, Vinesh, their first cousin, has been selected in the squad for Glasgow in the 48kg category. Even if a knee operation has kept elder sister Geeta out of action, her 20-year-old cousin has ensured that the family’s share in the women’s squad hasn’t taken a dip. The village is now suddenly very fond of the Phogat sisters. So much so, that their mother won the village sarpanch elections four years ago. “The popularity of my daughters helped me emerge

Five of seven members in the women’s wrestling squad at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games are from Haryana

FIRST ACTION HEROINE

Geetika Jakhar, 28 63KG CATEGORY

One of the pioneers of women’s wrestling in the country, Jakhar’s (far left) achievements include a silver medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. She was the first female wrestler to receive the Arjuna Award in 2007. A knee injury forced Jakhar to go under the knife in 2010 and 2011, but it did not shackle her spirit.

In 2013, she made a superb comeback with a bronze medal in the Asian Championships. A deputy superintendent of police in Haryana, Geetika is seen as a strong medal prospect at the Commonwealth Games.

11 PHOTO: DEEPAK GUPTA/HINDUSTAN TIMES

triumphant in the elections,” says the mother, Daya Kaur.

BAD OLD DAYS...

Till a few years ago, Balali, too, was another patriarchal Haryana village, where the men called the shots and women were pushed to the periphery. When Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler, first thought of training his daughters in the sport, the villagers were up in arms. “They were dead against the idea of girls slugging it out with the boys in a mud pit. But gradually, when the girls began winning medals, their mindsets changed. Now they took a renewed pride in Geeta and Babita,” says their father.

Phogat recalls the time when the two had a tough time finding other girls in the village to spar with.

Without any other option, they practised with their male cousins.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Vinesh, 20 48KG CATEGORY

Following in the footsteps of her cousins Geeta and Babita, wrestler Vinesh (right) will debut at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Winner of international medals on the junior circuit, Vinesh made her senior debut at last year’s Asian Championships.

“In village dangals, not only did they compete, but began defeating the boys,” recalls Phogat. But then Geeta won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and the villagers began to bask in reflected glory.

Phogat has introduced his third daughter Ritu (21) and two of his brother’s daughters – Priyanka (23) and Vinesh (22) – to the sport.

In the next decade, you might see a few women athletes speaking out against a system that is tilted heavily in favour of men. For now, they’ll do well by winning more medals.

The road ahead for Haryana’s lady athletes is full of challenges. But as we discovered, they are raring to begin running towards a golden future. We wish them luck. saurabh.duggal@hindustantimes.com

MUSCLE WOMAN

Babita Kumari, 24 55KG CATEGORY

A silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games made her a household name in Bhiwani. Today the boxing hub is winning fame for producing women wrestlers. Kumari (far right) also won a World Championships bronze. She, along with sister Geeta, got into the sport inspired by their wrestler father Mahavir Phogat.

12

WELLNESS

MIND BODY SOUL

w

SHIKHA SHARMA

For any worries related to unplanned pregnancy: Write to us at consumercare@piramal.com or call us at 1800-22-0502 (toll free) or sms ICAN to 56070 Website: www.i-canhelp.in

To avoid pregnancy, one needs to consume emergency contraceptive pill within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. The earlier it is taken the better as there is a gradual decrease in the s u c c e s s r a t e i n a v o i d i ng pregnancy with time. As you have consumed the pill after 60 hours, there is still a possibility that pregnancy has been avoided. However we recommend that you conduct a pregnancy test if your next period is delayed by 10 days or more.

Please be more careful next time a n d i n d u l g e i n p r o t e c t ed intercourse.

2. Dear Doctor, I have heard that if a couple uses contraception and delays pregnancy, then it becomes very difficult to get pregnant later. Is it true? If a couple does not conceive within one year of marriage does it mean that there might be some fertility related problems with either one of us? Does contraceptive usage affect future pregnancies?

Personal hygiene is important in any season, but particularly during the monsoon

H

3. Dear Doctor, if an emergency contraceptive pill is taken after ovulation period, will it cause period delay? I consumed an th emergency pill on the 20 day of my cycle and this time my periods are delayed for more than 3 days. Is it normal or I may have conceived?

A period cycle fluctuation is generally observed after taking emergency contraceptive pills.

This cycle fluctuation will happen irrespective of the time you consume the pill. If you have taken the pill within the stipulated 72 hour period, you would have avoided pregnancy effectively.

You need to be patient till your period arrives and in case it is delayed for more than 10 days, we suggest you conduct a pregnancy test.

Queries answered by Dr Nirmala Rao MBBS, MD, DPM; a well known psychiatrist who heads Mumbai based Aavishkar - a multifaceted team of expert doctors and health professionals. Aavishkar has a comprehensive approach to mental and physical health, with an emphasis scan this QR code to visit website on counselling and psychotherapy.

Supported by:

PERSONAL HEALTH AND YGIENE MEANS good HYGIENE IN THE MONSOON practices of personal The rainy season is when you cleanliness such as bathare most likely to fall ill, thanks ing, brushing one’s teeth, and to sewage on the roads. Besides washing one’s hands after usthat, the environmental ing the toilet and before meals. conditions favour the Good personal growth of bacteria, hygiene can prevent viruses and fungus in health problems like the atmosphere and on skin infections, body the surfaces of many odour, head lice, scalp objects. You must be infections, dental decay vigilant about your and bad breath. personal hygiene.

It has taken us a ■ long time to understand Bathe and shampoo the necessity of good regularly.

■ Wash your hands with hygiene. In the olden KEEP IT CLEAN days, poor hygiene led soap.

Wear freshly laun■ Wash your to plagues and disease dered clothes epidemics. Since few feet when doctors disinfected their you come instruments and surroundings indoors.

■ Wear fresh while working, deaths due to infection during surgery were clothes every day.

■ Brush your teeth very high as well.

These days, even as the and floss them regularly.

■ Women, make sure you’re West has understood the importance of good hygiene, we clean during your menstrual still largely haven’t. Urban India cycle. is waking up to it, but the situation in rural India is still very HERBS FOR GOOD HYGIENE ■ Turmeric is an excellent antibad. Many of the diseases that affect rural India can septic.

■ Add boiled neem be attributed directly GERM FIGHTERS to poor hygiene. For leaves to bathing water Turmeric and instance, drinking water neem are excellent to prevent skin infecantiseptics tends to be unclean, tions.

■ Clove oil is good for which leads to illnesses. Childbirth is oral hygiene.

■ Burn camphor still a messy affair.

Garbage disposal in a clay diya to practices are disinfect the abominable all atmosphere. over the country. ask@drshikha.com

MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch JULY 27, 2014

Photos: THINKSTOCK

Factors that impact fertility include genetics, hormonal imbalance, diseases and certain drugs. Contraceptives, when

GET A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH

used as directed, are not known to impact fertility. Delaying conception, also, does not impact fertility. Not everyone conceives within the first year of marriage.

Many normal healthy individuals take more than a year to conceive. You can increase your chance of conception by knowing the 2 most fertile days of your cycle. A mature egg is only available for fertilization on these two days of the month. There are kits available in the market that helps you identify these fertile days. Planning intercourse on these days will definitely increase the probability of conceiving.

MediaMedic ICH/Q&A/0704

1. Dear Doctor, We had been on a vacation and I consumed an emergency pill after coming back. Will it still be effective in avoiding pregnancy if taken after 60 hours of unprotected intercourse?

14

SPOTLIGHT

All The World’s A Stage. Literally

Kitchens, terraces, courtyards, libraries, even a bus. Expensive performance spaces are forcing troupes to jump off the stage

Bus Carnival

Director Martin John Chalissery’s production, Odichodichu – Oru Bus Natakam, made innovative use of an old bus for their performance

by Asad Ali

B

ADAL SIRCAR would’ve given a wry grin.

One of the foremost personalities in the history of Indian theatre, Sircar felt more strongly than most the constraints of the proscenium or formal stage.

And that was in the late 1960s. But today’s crop of theatre artists is also pushing the boundaries of creativity – using kitchens, terraces, courtyards, libraries and even public buses to stage plays.

In the early Seventies, Sircar set up his own theatre group Satabdi whose first production Spartacus (1972) was staged in a small courtyard at Kolkata’s Academy of Fine Arts. Next came Michil (1974), performed open-air in a village in West Bengal. Other plays that sought to break the mould of stage-based performances followed.

The idea was to do away with all that was unnecessary to the core performance by actors. Using a formal stage was also expensive.

Even today, a disconnect with the audience, lack of space and financial issues compel contemporary Indian performers to shun the hallowed proscenium space.

IN A SPOT

“As a people, we have had a history of performing our folk arts in open spaces,” says Suresh Sharma, who helms the Repertory Company, the performing wing of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. “Then came artists who experimented. But for the majority of performers today, experiments happen by way of compulsion.”

The compulsion, Sharma explains, is financial. Though cities like Mumbai and Delhi have proscenium halls built on land sold by the government at nominal

rates to promote the arts, renting these auditoria is expensive.

“Whether it’s Kamani Auditorium and Sri Ram Center in Delhi or any other place, the rent is extremely high, making them an unviable option for most,” says Sharma. “As much as a lakh is needed to stage a performance in a place like Kamani. Even big directors such as M K Raina and Bhanu Bharti are unable to opt for such spaces without government support. Hence the need to seek out newer, unconventional spaces.”

Indian television’s ‘Badki’ from the small-screen drama Hum Log, Seema Pahwa, says that

Grand

Act Roysten Abe l sa tough to stag ys it might be e his produc tion, The Kitchen, in Delhi

even if the tickets were priced at `1,000 a seat, the production would need to have a popular face among its cast to pull in crowds and make up for the investment.

Shobha Deepak Singh, vice chairperson of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra which administers Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi, offers a different take: “Artists can’t have their cake and eat it too,” she says. “They want fancy lights and sound systems, but want it cheap. A lot of money goes into the upkeep of the auditorium.”

ENTER THE EXPERIMENT

Financial concerns apart, sometimes artists need a non-stage space simply because the confines of an auditorium will not work for their production.

That’s why Pahwa’s produc-

tion of Bhisham Sahni’s play Saag Meat made such news when it was staged in April this year. The play is a satire on the middle class, and Pahwa wanted to give it a more tangible treatment. So she actually cooked the saag meat during the play and served it to the audience at the end. This, of course, meant she had to work with fire, and none of the auditoria that Pahwa approached gave the required permits. Frustrated but determined, Pahwa held the first performance on the terrace of her house, and soon experimented with other spaces like courtyards.

Clearly, experimentation has its own price tag, and acclaimed Kerala-born theatre director Roysten Abel, of The Manganiyar Seduction fame, knows it all too well. Abel’s most recent production, The Kitchen, is a grand presentation that tries to use the act of cooking as a metaphor for life itself. The concept came to Abel when he visited the shrine of Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi in Turkey. “Rumi’s kitchen space has been preserved the way it was. It had a raised platform where Rumi and his dervishes meditated, while the food cooked beneath them.

Novices who wanted to join in had to kneel and wait, without food or water, sometimes for weeks. So their souls were being cooked in a way besides the actual food, while Rumi and his chosen dervishes were ‘cooking’ on a cosmic plane,” explains Abel.

First performed at the Ranga Shankara, Bengaluru, in August 2013, the production is now on an international tour. It also has twelve mizhavu musicians on stage, seated inside a structure similar to the traditional pot usu-

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15

SITE SPECIFIC THEATRE WORLDWIDE

Photo: AJAY AGGARWAL

CLOSER HOME: Slick off-the-stage experiments don’t just hold true for current times.

One simply has to look at India’s most popular site-specific theatre - the Ramlila (pictured right).

Ramnagar in Varanasi district transforms itself into an expansive openair theatre every year.

BEYOND BORDERS: British theatre company Punchdrunk (formed in 2000)

has gained massive popularity for its radical site-based performances.

One of their most recent performances (in July) was held at an old medical research centre.

ally used to prepare payasam. This means higher costs and numerous permissions.

“A proper show involving three or four days of set-up can be expensive,” says Abel. “Ranga Shankara is probably one of the best spaces available that way. It’s affordable and there are fewer hassles to deal with in Bengaluru.”

Non-traditional theatre spaces have their share of problems.

Martin John Chalissery, a Keralabased theatre director and India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) grantee, knows all about them.

Having grown up in Thrissur, Martin went to Chile in 2002 to build on his physical theatre skills.

He collaborated with a wide array of artists there and once he returned, set up Sadhana Center for Creative Practice – a cross-cultural initiative comprising like-minded artists looking to innovate. In 2013, it produced Odichodichu – Oru Bus Natakam, a musical performance on a bus, refurbished so that its right side, back panel and roof could transform into a mobile stage. The musicians and artists interacted with the audience in what Martin calls a “bus carnival.”

However local transport authorities clamped down when Martin tried to take the bus across the state, saying that because it was a performance vehi-

oking?ked What’sacao ctually coo

w Seema Pah her adaptation of in t a e m g saa ahni’s play Bhisham S

cle it couldn’t be randomly driven around. But Martin remains optimistic despite the niggles. “Many artists complain about spaces, which is true to an extent,” he says. “But they should create the spaces they want.”

MIDDLE GROUND?

That’s exactly what Arundhati Ghosh, executive director of IFA, urges theatre groups to do. “Instead of looking at newer spaces, one could also look at spaces which were meant for the arts but now lie completely unused,” she says. “Or city spots which can be easily converted into a performance space with minimal investment. In fact, one of the objectives of Project 560 that IFA started was to get artists to find spaces in the city which they felt are most conducive to the arts or their performances.”

As part of the project, Bengaluru-based theatre group Rangasiri put together a performance based on the life of monarch Kempegowda I, the founder of Bangalore. The performance was held, fittingly, around one of the four watch towers built during Kempegowda’s reign to demarcate the outermost boundaries of the city. As part of the same project, Mallika Prasad and Ram Ganesh Kamatham of Actors Ensemble India Forum converted a climbing wall inside a popular city mall into a sort of vertical stage for their unique performance.

“It’s a compulsion at times to experiment, and it isn’t always a creative choice,” says Sanjana Kapoor, who was at the helm of Prithvi theatre for close to 20 years. “But all experiments in the realm of theatre and the performing arts should be seen as a sign of exciting times for theatre lovers.

Theatrewallahs will always sniff out opportunities and spaces to perform. They always have,” adds Kapoor. asad.ali@hindustantimes.com

18

COUCH POTATO

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How Much Does Happiness C

You don’t need Kaun Banega Crorepati’s Computerji to tell you the answer is `1 crore. You just need to see what the TV quiz show’s winners have done with their lives since they won the prize money

by Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi

T

HEY LOCKED their final answers and waited with bated breath for Computerji to tell them their fate. And then there was a star burst. Celebrity status. National respect. Pots of money.

It’s been 14 years since the TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) first held India spellbound.

The show changed the way we saw television. Its host, Amitabh Bachchan, defined how Indian TV hosts should be. And the prize money – a dazzling `1 crore 14 years ago, and a mindblowing `5 crore now – changed the lives of its winners.

Or did it? Did the money really make the winners’ lives better?

Did it buy them happiness?

Harshvardhan Nawathe, 40, winner, season 1.

“For a year after the win, I lived the life of a rock star”

H

is father was in the Indian Police Service (IPS) and Harshvardhan Nawathe was studying for the civil services exam himself when KBC began.

A quiz programme on TV was an attractive proposition for an IPS aspirant. So he’d watch the show and answer the questions along with the contestants, getting them right all the time. Till, one night, his mother said, “If you know all this, why do you just sit on the couch and answer? Why don’t you sit on the hot seat?”

So he did. While the show was on, he sent in a correct entry to one of the viewer questions that are asked at regular intervals and sure enough, was called in for auditions. In 2000, Nawathe made history as KBC’s very first winner, and the first ever person in the country to win such a massive amount

on TV at the age of 27. Few people remember the names of the winners on other seasons of KBC. But everyone remembers the name of the show’s first winner.

The `1 crore he won, says Nawathe, was important. But the fame he acquired along with it was unimaginable. “For a year, I lived the life of a rock star,” he laughs.

He was hounded for autographs, courted by parents of wannabe brides, recognised everywhere he went. It was surreal and fantastic.

But it also had its side effects.

“I lost my focus and didn’t take the civil services’ exam,” says Nawathe.

Fortunately, he comes from a middle -lass family with practical values, so Nawathe used his prize money to further his education, finishing an MBA from a university in Edinburgh, UK. He also bought his first car (a Maruti Esteem) and a house in Mumbai.

“I had earned every bit of it, so I was proud of it,” he says. That was 14 years ago. Nawathe, now married, with two children, works with Mahindra & Mahindra and lives the regular corporate life.

But the fame of being the winner of the first KBC crore hasn’t diminished. Neither has the glory of being known as a man who made money purely because of his knowledge and IQ. “That made all the difference,” says Nawathe.

JULY 27, 2014

Sanmeet Kaur, 38, winner, season 6. “The money bought me my dreams – a big house and my own fashion label”

S

he had a degree in fashion design. But her conservative Mumbai-based in-laws didn’t want her going out to work. That could have been that for Sanmeet Kaur, except that she really wanted to be more than a homemaker.

So she started a tiffin service, supplying lunch dabbas to office goers. But then she had an accident that left her bed-ridden for six months. Unable to cook, Kaur had to stop her business. “That left me very depressed,” she says.

It was on her husband’s suggestion that she started tutoring children. And, because she was a general-knowledge enthusiast herself, as part of the learning chart she’d created for her pupils, she urged them to watch KBC. “The show was so good,” says Kaur. “I seemed always to be learning from the show.”

One day, on a whim while watching TV, Kaur sent an SMS answering the question asked as an entry qualifier for KBC. The next thing she knew, she was on the hot seat. And she won `5 crore. “I was sure I could win about `25-30 lakhs, but not more,” says Kaur.

Kaur made history as the first woman to win `5 crore. And the money bought her all her dreams.

A bigger house in Mumbai with all the amenities was her first buy. But she also opened her own fashion studio.

“That was really my dream come true,” says Kaur. “I started my own label, Phir Desi Fashion, in partnership with an old friend.

Though I am in Mumbai, the studio and manufacturing unit are in Delhi. My friend manages those while I concentrate on exhibitions and taking the brand forward.”

For Kaur, life in the past year has been a roller coaster ride.

From being a middle-class homemaker in a conservative family, she is now a heavily socialising entrepreneur. Someone even her in-laws are proud of. “They think I know it all!” she says, laughing.

Rahat Taslim, 37, winner, season 4. “That R1 crore gave me a new life, self-belief and confidence”

S

he was an ordinary homemaker from a conservative, lowermiddle-class Muslim household, decently happy, living with her husband and two children in Giridih, Jharkhand. That wasn’t what she’d wanted to be however. Taslim was studying to appear for her medical entrance exams when her family decided it would be better for her to marry, and that was the end of her career aspirations.

But though Taslim uncomplainingly managed her household

on her husband’s meagre income as a government employee, she knew she was meant for bigger things. So when KBC started, she was hooked.

“I loved the show. It wasn’t just the big money. It was like going back to my studies,” she

19

s Cost?

Photo: ANSHUMAN POYREKAR

Taj Mohammed Rangrez, 40 winner, season 6.

“I could get my partially blind daughter treated”

H

e was most nervous about KBC’s qualifying round – the Fastest Finger First. “I had never operated a computer in my life, so I really had no clue what to do. I had to practise a million times before I finally sat at the machine. But then I managed,” says a beaming Taj Mohammed Rangrez.

Once on the hot seat though, nothing stopped him. Rangrez went on to win the glorious amount of `1 crore. He could have had a shot at the bumper `5 crore question, but didn’t want to risk what he’d already won. “I didn’t know the answer and I couldn’t afford the risk. So I quit,” he says.

But after that `1 crore got to his bank account, Rangrez found there was lots he could afford. This was a kind of money he’d never been able to envision before. “I didn’t even know how many zeroes were in a crore,” he laughs.

The first thing he did was begin treatment for his partially blind daughter. “Finally, I could afford it,” he says. “This was my biggest task. It is very painful for a father to be helpless when his children need help. Nothing can be more heart-breaking.

But now I am not that helpless.”

In fact, Rangrez is a helpful sort. When two or-

says. Always a good student, Taslim decided to participate in KBC herself.

She did. And she won.

She used the prize money of `1 crore to buy herself a new life. A risk taker to the core, after setting aside some money for her children’s education, Taslim invested a big chunk of the prize money

JULY 27, 2014

phan girls in his village needed to be married, Rangrez paid for their weddings. And he did it exactly the way he would for his own daughter – with arrangements for more than a thousand guests and all the trappings of an Indian wedding.

And of course, he also bought a house and made some investments as well.

Based in Kanore, a hamlet in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, Rangrez lives with his mother, wife, sister and daughter. He decided to enter KBC when he first learned about it after its third season, which was when his family got a TV. Of course, he is still hooked to the show and is eagerly awaiting the next season.

in a business of her own, even though her husband and family were against it.

“They said I wouldn’t be able to manage a business. But I was adamant.” And so Taslim opened a garment showroom in a newly opened mall in Giridih in 2012.

Though still in its teething stage, the business is doing fairly well.

“I used my prize money to prove myself and I succeeded.”

The `1 crore has given Taslim the life she wanted. But more important, she says, it gave her confidence and self-belief. “That was my greatest win.” tavishi.rastogi@hindustantimes.com

20

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This One has sOul

Sometimes it takes an anniversary to remember and celebrate a great restaurant

B

Y A COMPLETE coincidence I turned up at a friend’s birthday dinner at the Moti Mahal Deluxe in Greater Kailash and found that among the other guests were Monish Gujral and Anil Chaddha. Monish is the grandson of Kundan Lal Gujral, the founder of Moti Mahal and the inventor of butter chicken. Anil is an old Maurya hand who is now back in Delhi as general manager of the Maurya, the hotel where he once looked after the food and beverage portfolio.

Moti Mahal has a slightly complex ownership structure these days but Monish’s version of the brand flourishes. He told me that he had just returned from opening his 200th outlet (including franchises, fast-food versions, etc.) in Tanzania, the first Moti Mahal in Africa. And Anil

Vir Sanghvi

rude food

MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Vir Sanghvi, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch The views expressed by the columnist are personal

told me that Bukhara is now 35 and a week of celebrations is planned for early August.

By now, we know pretty much everything there is to know about Moti Mahal. Founded in Daryaganj by Kundan Lal Gujral who came over to Delhi after Partition, it is the restaurant that popularised tandoori chicken, invented butter chicken and created the kaali dal that is now a staple of all north Indian restaurants.

In contrast, we don’t know as much about Bukhara. Oh yes, it may well be the most famous Indian restaurant in the world. And we are all aware that it has been the highest-grossing restaurant in Delhi for decades. But we don’t know anything about its origins or its creation in the way that we know all about Moti Mahal. Perhaps this has something to do with the Maurya’s inability to break through to the Indian consciousness till about a decade or so ago.

For instance, when I wrote about the Taj and the Oberoi’s anniversaries a few months ago, there was a whole repertoire of stories to fall back upon, a whole set of myths to relate. ITC Hotels, on the other hand, has tak-

JULY 27, 2014

VERY DELHI!

Camellia Panjabi said that Bukhara (above) perfectly captured the ethos of Delhi: no fancy décor, no cutlery, mainly stools to sit on, and aprons on offer if you made a mess of your dinner en too long to tell its own story. This may be because it is a relatively small part of its parent conglomerate, the cigarette and consumer products giant, ITC Ltd. But it has its own myths and legends, untold as they may be.

The hotel chain emerged out of the passion of Ajit Haksar, the company’s legendary chairman. Haksar decided to enter the hotel industry but put it about that ITC would only own hotels, not manage them. And so the Oberois were asked to help with the design of the first ITC property, the Mughal in Agra. But somewhere along the way – to the lasting bitterness of Biki Oberoi – Haksar changed his mind and decided he would create a hotel company himself. The Oberois were told “thanks for the help but it’s goodbye now” and the company set about managing its own hotels.

The Maurya should have been the company’s showpiece but it was – to Haksar’s irritation – eclipsed in the public consciousness by the Taj on Man Singh Road which opened at roughly the same time. My guess is that ITC’s disadvantage was that it did not have a corporate culture for its hotel division or a brand identity while the Taj had been in the business for decades.

The new hotel company’s managers were (naturally, enough) stolen from other chains like ITDC and the Oberois. Four years later, when the chain had still not hit the top rung, Haksar stole the general manager who had opened the Delhi Taj and 25 of the Taj’s best managers and chefs. Even then, ITC struggled to find its own identity. (Only a few of the Taj people stayed the course.)

But if there was one thing Haksar knew, it was his food. He stole Roger Moncourt, the chef who more or less introduced French cuisine to India from ITDC and, after eating the food of a Lucknow wedding caterer called Imtiaz Qureshi, hired him for ITC and gave him a free hand to create the sort of Awadhi cuisine never served in Indian hotels.

Imtiaz became the mascot of ITC’s Indian food tradition. A larger-than-life character, his love of the good life was only matched by his brilliance at the range. Stories abounded about Imtiaz’s exploits. One legend has it that when he noticed that Moncourt would bring a glass of red wine to the kitchen every morning and continually

21

PERFECT MIX

Bukhara’s first chef Madan Jaiswal’s (below left) food came from the Hindu tandoori tradition. The kebabs (left) were not fancy but Jaiswal got the mix of meat and masala just right

sip from it, he resolved to do the same. Except that Imtiaz didn’t really like red wine. So he drank neat rum, in the same quantities – with predictable consequences for his behaviour and alertness.

Initially, Haksar had hoped that Imtiaz would look after all of the Maurya’s Indian food, but eventually it was decided to restrict the great man to Mayur, the haute cuisine restaurant. Bukhara went to Madan Jaiswal, in his own way as much of a character as Imtiaz.

There was a certain (politically incorrect) logic to the division. Imtiaz’s food came from the Muslim Awadh tradition. Madan’s food came from the same Hindu tandoori tradition that Kundan Lal Gujral had pioneered. But Bukhara added finesse to the Moti Mahal favourites. The black dal was a sophisticated version of Gujral’s creation and it was so successful that Dal Bukhara is not only world famous but has also become a generic name for the dish.

The kebabs were not fancy but Madan got the mix of meat and masala just right. There is still not a better restaurant in India for a red-meat fix. And a whole new vegetarian menu (gobhi, paneer, etc.) was created.

No other hotel was able to replicate Bukhara’s success. Camellia Panjabi used to say, when she was at the Taj, that Bukhara perfectly captured the ethos of Delhi: no fancy décor, no cutlery, mainly stools to sit on, and aprons on offer if you made a mess of your dinner. Camellia thought that Delhi’s Punjabis loved the idea of being able to rip giant naans apart with their bare hands and to pull the flesh off their tandoori chickens.

Perhaps she was right. But it turned out that even ITC

could not replicate Bukhara’s success. When they tried to take the concept international, it tanked. The Bukhara at the Bangkok Sheraton closed and the ones in America created so many problems (legally) for the ITC management that finally the word went out: there will be only one Bukhara. There are Bukhara clones at ITC hotels in other cities but they all use names like Royal Afghan or Peshawari. There can never be another Bukhara.

Though Bukhara has always made lots of money, my guess is that its fame only took off after ITC finally got its act together and carved out a reputation for personalised service and luxury. (This roughly coincides with the period when Yogi Deveshwar, a former head of ITC Hotels, became chairman of the parent conglomerate.) That’s when Bukhara became the first choice of celebrities visiting Delhi. The Clintons started it (Bill eats virtually the whole menu, though Hillary is less greedy) but even Tony Blair told me it was one of the best Indian meals he had ever eaten and soon it became one of those places that visiting movie stars, rock stars and presidents knew they just had to visit.

Madan died, sadly enough, in a road accident and Imtiaz has gone on to greater glory as the founder of Dum Pukht (so great is his influence that every second chef now changes his name to Qureshi). The low-profile JP Singh, a quiet chef who used to be shocked by the saltiness of Madan’s language, has taken over and trained new generations of cooks.

But basically, the Maurya has decided not to tamper with success. Bukhara still serves pretty much the same menu it served when it opened in 1978. The décor remains the same and the restaurant retains its spirit. Three years ago when I interviewed the great British restaurateur, Jeremy King, he told me that the one restaurant he really loved in India was Bukhara. It wasn’t the food, he said – he took that as a given. It was that Bukhara had soul.

I don’t know what JP and Anil are planning for their anniversary celebrations but I’ve a couple of suggestions. One: go easy on prices – we’d all like to eat there more often. (Yes, I know. They won’t bother. It’s always full anyway.)

And two: isn’t it time to come clean? The great secret (off-menu) dish at Bukhara has always been the chicken khurchan. Why not put it on the menu officially now? And what about that great butter chicken they used to serve?

They don’t even offer it as on off-menu selection any longer. Surely, that deserves to come back.

But apart from that, there’s not one thing I would suggest. I know that Bukhara dates from a different era, long before ITC became such a big-time luxury chain. But it works. The food is great. And as Jeremy King says: you don’t trample on a restaurant’s soul.

Ajit Haksar stole Roger Moncourt, the chef who more or less introduced French cuisine to India from ITDC

THE BUTTER CHICKEN MAN

Kundan Lal Gujral came over to Delhi after Partition and founded Moti Mahal in Daryaganj

SERVED THEM RIGHT

Moti Mahal popularised tandoori chicken (below), invented butter chicken (bottom) and created the kaali dal that is now a staple of all north Indian restaurants

Photos: THINKSTOCK

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A SmArt WAy to Sell A SmArtphone

Serious about mobile phones?

A brand called Xiaomi is on its way. Do learn how to pronounce it right. We’ll tell you why

What is Xiaomi and why in heaven’s name should I learn how to pronounce it, anyway?

Very few companies can change the way a phone is sold and used. Very few companies can sell a top-of-the-line flagship phone at a loss and still make lots of money. Very few companies have a ‘only sold online’ model and still create a frenzy and demand in millions. Very few companies can claim a waiting list that runs into a few months. Very few companies can update their entire phone OS and features ‘Over the Air’ every single week. Thus, when a company that can do that and enters India, and is about to change the entire mobile phone retail landscape in the country, the least you can do is learn how to pronounce its name.

What’s the big deal? Lots of companies have different business models. It doesn’t mean I have to learn a new tongue-twister every time one enters my country!

Okay, you seem like the stubborn type and have to argue for the sake of arguing. Let me

sell it at an actual loss.

Why? Are they insane?

Far from it. They seem to be a little ahead of the other companies in terms of setting up for the future. In a world where it’s becoming impossible to compete and differentiate and make money off selling only hardware, Xiaomi uses the razor-and-cartridge model. Sell the razor stick for a loss and make money off the cartridges. The good thing is that the Xiaomi cartridges (services, themes, apps, accessories) are also sold at a very aggressive price. The philosophy is simple. They sell a staggeringly large number of phones, and then sell small add-ons to that huge number of people on a very regular basis.

Ok, so give me an example of just how cheap these Xiaomi phones actually are.

That’s easy. Let’s take the one they have just introduced in India. The Mi3. Super thin 8.1 mm aluminum-magnesium-plastic chassis, weighs 145g, and has a stunning 5-inch Full-1080P HD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz quad-core chipset, Android 4.4.2 Kitkat OS heavily skinned with Mi UI, 13.0MP camera at the back, 16GB storage, 2GB Rajiv Makhni RAM and a massive 3050mAh battery. What would be this level of specs and features from ANY other brand be priced at? Anywhere between `25K to `42K. How much is Xiaomi selling it for? `13K! They also introduced the dual-sim 5.5 inch RedMi Note with an octa-core processor, HD IPS display, OGS and a 13-megapixel camera for `9,999!

Wow! So, that’s super aggressive. This company seems to be heaven sent! further expand this one. This is a comWell, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. There are a few pany that is just about four years old. Eight little niggles that I still think need to be pointed out. First, partners co-founded this company in June this company has built its reputation by always talkSHOW STEALER 2010. The company’s founder CEO is Lei ing about how millions of devices are pre-booked The Xiaomi RedMi Note Jun, apparently one of the richest people in available at a surprisingin China and how there is a huge waiting period China. They announced their first phone, ly low price may prove there. And yet, here they are, entering into India. the Mi1 in 2011 and got about 3,00,000 or- costly for the Samsung Shouldn’t they first take care of the huge demand ders in the first few hours itself. Then Mi2 Galaxy Note in China itself ? The second and far more important followed with over 10 million devices sold point is to do with service centers. The phone will be and now the Mi3 is an even bigger and more astounding sold only through Flipkart and Xiaomi’s own web site and success.

I would be very concerned about service and support right Okay, so they sell a lot of phones. Lots of other companow. The third one is to do with this whole ‘every week’ upnies do too. What’s so different about them? dates of the OS. Till we haven’t tried this for a few weeks Well, quite a bit. There is literally no company in the world and seen exactly how well they’ve understood Indian needs right now that sells an ‘only online’ sale of cellphones. And, and wants, I would be very sceptical of a massive automatthere is a reason and a method to this madness. They do this ed download every week. to cut costs of retail, running shops, retail staff, distributor Cool, so I’ll wait for a few weeks then. margin, retailer margins and a whole lot more. Thus, they Yes, let’s give them time to settle in and get things right. can sell top-of-the line phones at a really aggresThese guys are about to change the entire paradigm of how sive price. you buy a phone, how much you buy a phone for and how How aggressive? you use it. Plus, they will make sure that every brand has to Very! Besides the obvious wake up and react and respond to this all-new Chinese invasavings in the only-online sion. On top of that, they have even announced that they model, they also have a secwill be bringing in tablets and TVs into India soon. That too ond-level business model a 49 inch 4K Ultra HD TV for less than `39,000! that is even more interestHoly cow! Okay, so how do you pronounce Xiaomi? ing. They practically sell Let’s first make sure we know how not to pronounce that the phone at a loss. Most name. It’s not Zai-omi, nor is it Zayo-my, it’s also not Exipeople report that they sell omi. The correct way to go about this one is Shao-Me. Rethe phone at exactly the hearse it a few times, and try it with a slightly Chinese price it costs them to manutwang and you should be able to pull it off.

Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget facture it, but I suspect that Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3 they go even further and

techilicious

MORE ON THE WEB For previous Tech columns, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter. com/RajivMakhni The views expressed by the columnist are personal

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Xiaomi’s Mi3 is super thin and loaded with features but costs only half as much as any other smartphone

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Photos: SHUTTERSTOCK; THINKSTOCK

GET WET AND GO!

Take a monsoon break. Kerala never looks more beautiful than during the rains

Listen to the Pouring rain…

And take time off to revel in the magic of the monsoon…

Seema Goswami

spectator

RAINDROPS ON MY PLATE

Gorging on pakoras and other deep-fried delights made my monsoons memorable, in the years I was growing up

MORE ON THE WEB For more SPECTATOR columns by Seema Goswami, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ seemagoswami. Write to her at seema_ ht@ rediffmail.com The views expressed by the columnist are personal

I

T HAS certainly taken its time about it this year, but finally the monsoon is upon us. And not a moment too soon, either, if you ask me. Just when we were about to wilt under the unrelenting heat and melt into a little puddle of humidity, the skies opened up and gave us the magic of the monsoon. The rain came crashing down, washing away the dirt and grime of an Indian summer, and suddenly the world looked green, clean and freshly laundered, with the smell of petrichor filling the air.

As you can tell (and you certainly can, if you have been regular readers of this column), I love the rains. I love the sight of dark, gathering clouds.

I love the fat little droplets of rain that fall on my window. I love the drama of the thunder and the flash of the lightning. I love the romance of walking in the rain, getting soaked to the skin and drenched to the bone.

Which is why I can never understand the monsoon naysayers, the ones who moan and groan about the onset of the rains. Yes, I know that traffic can become a mess after a fiveminute shower in some parts. I know that if a storm breaks, a power cut can’t be far behind. And that the slightest hint of rain is liable to make Tata Sky (less a DTH service; more a weather app) disappear off your TV sets.

But come on! It’s the monsoon. It’s the season to leave all your inhibitions aside and embrace the promise of the rains. It’s the time to sit in your balcony and watch, hot mug of tea or coffee in your hand, as the showers transform the urban landscape. Or just snuggle up on your couch, with a

JULY 27, 2014

good book, and read all day long with a thunderstorm providing the perfect background score.

Are you really going to be put off by a few puddles or even massive waterlogging, for that matter? Isn’t a traffic snarl a small price to pay for the privilege of gazing at those darkening skies, until they finally split open and shower their largesse upon us? Does khichdi ever taste better than when it is accompanied by a light but unrelenting drizzle? And did I mention that the temperature falls by as much as 10 degrees?

Growing up, my idea of heaven was getting a ‘rainy-day’ holiday from school. During the monsoons, I would get up and run to the window to conduct a ‘rain-check’ first thing in the morning. And my joy knew no bounds if the rain was already coming down in its full glory. If it lasted for an hour or longer, the odds of school being called off because of ‘rain disruption’ were very good indeed. And then I could do all the stuff that made monsoons memorable: get down and dirty in the puddles in the garden; plug the drainpipes and create my very own swimming pool on the terrace; gorge on pakoras and other deep-fried delights.

So, my message to all the monsoon kill-joys out there is this: lighten up and embrace the season. It is going to rain – incessantly, if we are lucky; on and off, if we are not – for the next couple of months, whether you like it or not. So, why not try and get into the monsoon spirit this year?

In case you’re game, here are just a few pointers to get you started: n Take a monsoon break. Kerala never looks more beautiful than during the rains. Beach destinations like Goa take on a particular charm at this time of the year. Or you could simply head to the hills for a spot of R&R. Take off for a week or even a weekend to enjoy the stunning beauty of the monsoon in these scenic locations. An added bonus: off-season rates ensure that you spend a fraction of the money you would have during high season. n Can’t take so much time off ? Or simply can’t afford another vacation after the expense of the summer holidays?

Never mind. Make the most of what your neighbourhood or city has to offer. Slip into a raincoat and head out for the park, Thermos of hot tea tucked away under your arm, to be enjoyed in some verdant spot. Organise a rainy-day barbecue in the backyard and call the neighbours over. Or simply walk along a sodden beachfront and watch the waves roll in, a grey symphony with the overcast skies. n Getting stuck in traffic snarls is a given. Don’t be caught out. Take along an iPod loaded with the best monsoon songs, which you can sing along to as the rain batters your windshield. Use the time to make a call to a long-neglected friend or family member. Or just chill out and clear your mind of all the clutter it has accumulated during the day.

Don’t stress yourself out because of the delay; that won’t make the traffic move any faster. n Want to feel better about yourself, even if you can’t about the season? Then take this opportunity to set up a waterharvesting unit at home, in your building, your colony or your cooperative society. The water table will thank you, as will future generations. And who knows, you may even finally get the point about the monsoons!

PEOPLE

The Comic Is Coming Back For More

He’s fought the flops, defied everyone’s predictions, made comedy his own and even emerged as a good producer. Actor Riteish Deshmukh is having the last laugh

by Udita Jhunjhunwala

R

ITEISH DESHMUKH is a living example of a dichotomy. A trained architect from a political family, Deshmukh changed tracks and tried his hand in Bollywood. In 2003, he made his debut with Tujhe Meri Kasam with Genelia D’Souza.

It was not his turn as a romantic lead, but his antics in several ensemble comedies, including Masti (2004), Kya Kool Hain Hum (2005), Heyy Babyy (2007) and Housefull (2010) that gave him hits and fans.

Just when he’d seemingly settled into that groove of the leaveyour-brains-at-home cinema, Deshmukh sprung a surprise. In 2013, he turned producer with movies in his mother tongue, Marathi.

Balak-Palak, a comic drama about sex education, was followed by Yellow (2014), the story of a child with special needs, which won a National Award. “As a producer, your choices are different from those you make as an actor. I am capable of producing certain kinds of films and also the ones I’d like to watch,” says the 35-year-old actor. And then he opened up a new chapter when he acted in his first Marathi film, Lai Bhari (2014).

EARNING HIS SPOT

In the past, critics have panned Deshmukh’s acting but praised his productions; appreciated his comic timing and dance moves, but scathingly questioned his place in Bollywood. They’ve ac-

cused him of leveraging his father Vilasrao Deshmukh’s erstwhile position as Maharashtra’s chief minister. None of this has deterred Deshmukh. Eleven years later, he’s seen one of the greatest successes of his career as a dark character in Ek Villain. His wife D’Souza and he are expecting their first child and he has three films in production. So would the real Riteish Deshmukh please stand up?

THE HERO’S JOURNEY

So what prompted him to play a murderer in Ek Villain a decade into his career? Or rather, who did? “Genelia was the first to suggest that I do a negative role.

And interestingly, this was the first dark role I’ve been offered,” he says.

He disagrees that his turn as a romantic hero has found limited acceptance, countering the suggestion with mention of his rom-com Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (2012).

“That film did well and I shifted back to comedy. Maybe if I do romance now, I might be better at it.”

But no one can fault him for experimenting with genres.

Between 2007-10, those experiments resulted in “five flops in a row,” he admits, referring to films like Aladin (2009), Rann (2010) and Jaane Kahan Se

ACROSS GENRES

Riteish Deshmukh played a negative role for the first time in Ek Villain (top left), enjoyed box office success with Grand Masti (top right), did a triple role in Humshakals

Aayi Hai (2010). “Then, Housefull happened.”

Comedy seems to be his forte. All three of his upcoming films – Bangistan, Bank Chor and Housefull 3 – are aimed at delivering laughs. “They are all different kinds of comedies,” he clarifies.

Still, there exists a stubborn image of Deshmukh as a poster boy for cross-dressing in Bollywood. “I don’t know why, considering I have only dressed in drag in Apna Sapna Money Money..? (2006) and Humshakals (2013),” he says.

He’s hoping that the impact of Ek Villain will translate to a variety of interesting scripts, and he’s open to the occasional Marathi

I think not coming with the pressure of being from a film family helps film too. “I would like to act in a Marathi film with Genelia,” he says. “Only if it’s a good story, obviously.” This idea would have to wait till after their baby comes along, of course.

OFF THE SET

D’Souza and Deshmukh were reportedly dating from their first film itself. After keeping the media guessing about their relationship, they finally wed in 2012. But the celebrity couple offer no secret formula for keeping their relationship under the radar. “Just keep lying!” says Deshmukh, laughing.

“Look, each individual knows how they want their relationship to be perceived – whether they want it to be open or under wraps.”

He says he wears both success and failure lightly. “I think not coming with the pressure of being from a film family helps and being from a political family helps one understand how to deal with pressure too. If you carry success on your shoulders, you get weighed down. My wife is also not from a film family and she is my biggest leveller,” says Deshmukh.

There is a lesser-known side of Deshmukh: he’s also a partner in the architectural firm, Evolution. While he is not active on a daily basis, he does take keen interest in key projects. One assignment he gladly took on was designing friend Karan Johar’s new apartment. “I did it because Karan is a dear friend who gave me full freedom and a great budget! It was fun.”

But Hindi films remain his mainstay. “This is my career.

For now my goal is to produce interesting content and keep trying to do better as an actor.” brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

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THE STORYTELLER AAKAR PATEL: Editor and translator of Why I Write: Essays

by Saadat Hasan Manto “His daughter Nighat told me that till the 1980s, she had no idea what a big writer her father was. Why is he still around when everyone else from his time is in a museum? He was a modern writer, more modern than Indian writers are even today in 2014.”.

Why Manto: His short stories.

In Bu, a man is intoxicated by the scent of a peasant woman’s armpit. I read it in translation when I was 13. I had not ever read something so sensual that was so Indian.

AYESHA JALAL: Manto’s grandniece, writer of The Pity of Partition: Manto’s Life, Times and Work across the India-Pakistan Divide:

MANTO SHANASI

Why It’s Trendy To Read Manto Again

by Aasheesh Sharma

“Upar di gur gur di annexe di bedhiyana di moong di daal of di Pakistan and Hindustan of di durr phitey mun”

T

HIS MANIC monologue mumbled by Bishan Singh in the short story Toba Tek Singh stays with you years after you’ve read Saadat Hasan Manto. Is it the same acidic narrator of Partition stories who, in his movie columnist avatar, holds forth elegantly on Sitara Devi’s charms and the reclusive ways of Ashok Kumar?

The James Dean of India’s literary circles, Manto died in 1965, aged just 43. During his short and tumultuous life, he put out a body of work that challenged genres, almost deliriously churning out 22 collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays,

two collections of personal sketches and innumerable movie scripts.

This included the story for Mirza Ghalib, the first Hindi film to win the National Award in 1954.

Two years after his birth centenary, there appears to be a revival in the tradition of Manto Shanasi, or Manto scholarship among English-speaking audiences. (see box, opposite page).

Still, VK Karthika, chief editor at HarperCollins Publishers India, would stop short of calling it a revival. “Over the years, there have been other translations of Manto, particularly in Hindi. Perhaps the 100th anniversary spurred some additional interest in him in 2012,” says Karthika. “What may be changing is another aspect. For very long, we’ve read Manto so unquestioningly, seemingly putting him on a pedestal, that fresh readings of his work may provide an opportunity for re-thinking and re-

JULY 27, 2014

THE TUMULT AND THE ROMANCE

Saadat Hasan and his wife Safia Manto in Bombay, circa 1947 casting. The time may just be right for more reasoned discussions of what Manto’s work actually stands for,” says Karthika.

A DISTURBING INFLUENCE

At times Manto’s writing created such savage imagery it ended up leaving you disturbed. Karthika recalls once such scene from Khol Do, where a teenage riot victim has been assaulted so many times that she undoes the cord of her shalwar in a reflex, when her father comes looking for her in a hospital room and the doctor says “Khol do,” referring to the windows. The storytelling itself is so impactful that the language and the form become secondary.

Penguin India managing editor R Sivapriya says that it might be an appropriate time to pay a tribute to the literary Manto, as opposed to the Partition Manto or the Bombay Stories Manto.

“The interesting thing is that he is being published in translation journals such as Words without Borders. No wonder young writers such as Daniyal Mueenuddin and

“I like the anecdote in Ganje Farishtay about Ashok Kumar driving Manto home and negotiating his way through a rough Muslimdominated area of the city following the outbreak of partition violence.”

Why Manto: His literary corpus cannot be confined to the national paradigms of either India or Pakistan. Saadat Hasan Manto can’t be appropriated by one nation alone.

AATISH TASEER Editor of Manto: Selected Stories “When I returned to India, I wanted to hear literary voices –in the original, where possible – from the geographical area in which I was operating as a writer. It was in this context that I was thrilled to have discovered Manto.”

Why Manto: The influence of Maupassant is visible everywhere. And such range! He made it possible for me to imagine the Forties in India.

Aatish Taseer admire him,” adds Sivapriya.

Born in a family of Kashmiri barristers who had settled in Punjab in 1912, Manto studied at Amritsar’s Muslim High School but was miserable at academics,

FINE PRINT

Images courtesy: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA: THE PITY OF PARTITION: MANTO’S LIFE, TIMES AND WORK ACROSS THE INDIA-PAKISTAN DIVIDE

failing in Urdu at the matriculation stage. But destiny had bigger plans for him.

Manto’s grandniece Ayesha Jalal, professor of History at Tufts University, says notwithstanding his misleading characterisations by officialdom, Manto has always had an ardent following in Pakistan. “I think his Partition writings have the same sort of impact on literary connoisseurs in Pakistan as anywhere else in the world,” she says, though she adds that “he continues to have his detractors who insist on portraying his realistic depictions of the human dimension of Partition as ‘obscene’.” Even while he was still alive, Manto invited numerous charges of obscenity and was tried for his short stories, on both sides of the border: most famously for Boo, Khol Do and Thanda Gosht.

MAXIMUM CHRONICLER

For more than a decade, between 1936 and 1948, Manto worked in Bombay’s film industry, creating scripts, magazine articles and short stories. A selection of his film writings was published by Penguin as Stars from Another Sky: The Bombay Film World of the 1940s, in 2010. “Manto’s film writing is gossipy, rich in detail and sharply insightful in his typically elliptical fashion. It will be sly well-placed observation that

A DIFFERENT HAT

Manto in Eight Days (1946), a film where he played an air force officer cracks open the piece for you,” says Sivapriya.

The storyteller’s new relevance among the English-speaking classes, avers Aatish Taseer, could be a reflection of how culturally denuded the world of English in India is.

“One longs for a voice with Manto’s urgency, his ability to deal directly with his material, his nearness to his world. Manto’s Bombay and Punjab even now feel like places one recognises; there is nothing of the isolation of the Indian-English writers,” says Taseer.

Journalist Aakar Patel contends that no writer, either before or after him, not even Behram ‘Busybee’ Contractor, ‘got’ Bombay as well as Manto did. Patel attributes this to two reasons.

“First, Manto nails what Bombay means to the outsider. As a writer he was secure only here. Second, he understands how important Mumbai is to the sub-continent.

Popular entertainment can only be produced on the cusp of obscenity. That is why Iran and Pakistan produce art but not entertainment.

Bombay, with no dominant community or culture, with its British influences, with its mercantile ethic, gave writers and filmmakers that liberal space in Manto’s time.

It was a free city. And he revelled in this freedom.”

BRILLIANCE IN SHADOWS

The shadowy world of society outcasts was what fascinated Saadat Hasan Manto the most. Ismat Chugtai once said about him that Manto picked out pearls “from the jilted squalor and refuse of life.”

Drawn to the dark side, the writer took his readers with him into the noir worlds of prostitutes, pimps, waifs, wastrels and debauchees.

But his genius was never in doubt. That is why, when Salman Rushdie called him the undisputed master of the modern Indian short story, his legion of admirers in the

PROMOTION

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subcontinent, the Manto-nafees, were not surprised.

In 2015, it will be 60 years since Manto died of cirrhosis of liver.

That is also the year when the copyright on his works goes into the public domain, so expect a slew of new translations. Patel is looking forward to it. “What I would like is for Manto’s entire works – there are seven volumes in Urdu – to be transliterated, in Devnagari and also in Roman Urdu (meaning the English alphabet). Manto thought Hindi and Urdu were the same and laughed at those who emphasised the differences.” aasheesh.sharma@hindustantimes.com Follow @aasheesh74 on Twitter

BETWEEN COVERS Why I Write: Essays by Saadat Hasan Manto, edited and translated by Aakar Patel, Tranquebar Press, Westland (2014) The Pity of Partition: Manto’s Life, Times, And Work across the India-Pakistan Divide, by Ayesha Jalal, HarperCollins India (2013) My Name is Radha, stories translated by Muhammad Umar Memon, Penguin India, (2015) Manto: Selected Short Stories translated by Aatish Taseer, Random House India (2012) Stars from Another Sky, a collection of Manto’s Bombay writings, Penguin India (2010)

twitter.com/HTBrunch

Photo: ABHISHEK SAHA

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Eat, Pray, Shop...Eat

The streets around Jama Masjid are almost imploding with activity during Ramzan.

Festive delicacies and great shopping make it a must-visit this time of year

by Asad Ali

A

Photo: SUBRATA BISWAS

FIGURE APPEARS on the upper reaches of the Jama Masjid and waves what looks like a dark flag.

Almost on cue two deafening blasts shake the air. The light bulbs that lace the masjid’s minarets slowly come to life, brightening up the monument as the sun slowly dips beneath the horizon and the muezzin calls for prayer.

“That’s the official signal for all rozedaars to end their day’s fast,” explains Umaiz Javed Khan.

“It’s been a tradition since the time of Mughal emperors. An appointed person lights two fairly strong explosives once he sees the flag signal from the imam. The same signal is followed for the early morning sehri.”

Khan owns an eatery called Afsar Al Karam in the serpentine Matia Mahal lane of Old Delhi. Like most shop owners, Khan hardly has a moment to spare. Ramzan is drawing to a close and Matia Mahal is now a little world of organised chaos. Frenzy fills the streets but the sea of people who surge past in all directions, somehow, seem to

know exactly where they’re going.

“There’s great food in every nook and cranny here. Just that Al Jawahar is a safer bet,” says Surya Sarangi, a designer at a publishing house out for an evening of lip-smacking food. “But I think I’ll check out the other places too in a while,” he adds sheepishly. Al Jawahar, like a number of other eateries in the vicinity, prepares an elaborate iftaar. Though it’s meant for the restaurant staff, any rozedaar who happens to be there is welcome to share the food. “There are the usual round of fruits and a variety of pakoras and sevai which we make. It’s shared by all of us who work here,” says the restaurant manager Mohammed Saleem. Then there are those who aren’t satiated with just lean meat. Afsar Al Karam sees a long line of such customers.

Khan claims that his cooks make the meanest nihari in the whole neighbourhood, and the demand is high during Ramzan season.

The masjid is a ball of energy almost imploding with the activity of the faithful assembled inside.

Long mats are spread out on the

JULY 27, 2014

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5. A man tries out a traditional turban just before prayers at the Jama Masjid open courtyard of the mosque and families lay out all the food for iftaar. Everyone gets their own food but makes it a point to offer something to others present nearby. And all are welcome to join in the feast. Some start their pre-iftaar prayers, while some of the kids do a smart recce of the savouries on offer around them.

“This place exudes a sense of comfort,” says Meena Rehman, a resident of Mehrauli. She quickly adds, “Plus there is post-iftaar shopping to be done. Who would miss that?” asad.ali@hindustantimes.com

MORE ON THE WEB For more photographs, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch

VARIETY

Photo: ABHISHEK SAHA

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2 1. Shopping frenzy grips revellers near one of the congested approach lanes to the Masjid

2. A child feeds pigeons in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid. The mosque attracts revellers of all ages and demographies

3. A family enjoys a lavish iftar spread at the Masjid premises after hours of going without food

4. A stall owner prepares Khajla Pheni, a traditional Ramzan delicacy as passersby look on Photo: AJAY AGGRWAL

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JULY 27, 2014

Photo: AJAY AGGRWAL

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PERSONAL AGENDA

Photo: ROHAN SHRESTHA

Actor

Yami Gautam SCHOOL/COLLEGE

BIRTHDAY PLACE OF BIRTH

November 28 Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh Yadavindra Public School, Panjab University

SUN SIGN HOMETOWN FIRST BREAK Sagittarius

Chandigarh

Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam on Colors

HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE

The success of my debut film Vicky Donor in 2012

LOW POINT OF YOUR LIFE

I once failed in my maths exam. I made it a point to never fail again

CURRENTLY I AM...

Doing the film Action Jackson and also feeling wonderful after taking the Pantene Hair Dare challenge as I love to observe people.

After a long day at work, what do you love to gorge on?

Elaichi chai and bread pakoras.

What makes you feel glamorous?

An outfit that complements my body type and nicely blow-dried hair.

You feel the most comfortable in.

A night suit.

Your favourite street food.

Pani puri.

The biggest risk you have taken.

Leaving college mid-way and coming to Mumbai.

Who are you closest to?

My mother.

Your favourite ice-cream flavour.

Vanilla. It may be simple but it’s hard to perfect.

Directors you want to work with.

Imtiaz Ali and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

BOLLYWOOD’S MOST ROMANTIC PAIR.

Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol JULY 27, 2014

Your fitness schedule.

I do hot yoga and TRX, a kind of suspension training.

A food item you would never eat.

Pork.

Your dream destination.

Ladakh.

Your skincare mantra.

I drink a lot of water and never go to bed without cleansing my face.

One thing you never leave home without.

My cell phone.

Three cosmetics you can’t do without.

Home-made kajal, my lip tint and a sunscreen.

A talent you would love to acquire.

I’d love to be able to dance like Madhuri Dixit.

— Interviewed by Veenu Singh

A FILM YOU HAVE SEEN MORE THAN 5 TIMES.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)

my movies

Romance or comedy, which genre do you enjoy doing more?

Romance.

What inspires you?

The fact that being good is not enough. You need to push your limits.

If you could wear one piece of clothing for life, what would it be?

I’m fond of wearing dresses in floral prints and neon colours.

Being alone at a party or alone at home, which do you prefer?

Being alone at a party is better

THE MOST OVERRATED FILM.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

THE MOST PAISA VASOOL FILM.

Dabangg (2010) A MOVIE THAT WAS A PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

Andaz Apna Apna (1994) THE FIRST MOVIE YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN.

Maine Pyar Kiya